When I think of summer, I tend to think of long and languid days covered in a golden haze and ripe wheat fields swaying gently. Reality is very different: short bursts of humid weather, the urban jungle covered in a flimsy layer of sweat, and then rain. Except tonight has been an exceptionally lovely evening - the sort you usually only see in adverts. Our communal garden was filled with neighbours, an old man played a fiddle whilst children danced, the adults sipped Pimm's & lemonade, and all the trees were decked out with bunting. My other half had baked oatmeal and raisin cookies and I devoured a bowl of strawberries whilst being entertained by two Australians. I wish I had brought my camera but perhaps some moments are best preserved by our memories, not photographs. (this might be a good place to direct you to my mum's local rag's summer photograph competition and my current "favourite" summer photo)
Another lovely thing occurred this week. I was looking through people's projects on Ravelry when I came across a Canadian woman. Hmm, I thought to myself, hmmm. Something about her triggered something in my old brain (it used to be an Aston Martin but now resembles a Trabant). I looked closer, sent off a tentative email and, yes, Mysterious Ravelry Woman turned out to be May. Not just any May, but the May who was my supercool Canadian penpal way back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She sent me mix tapes and I could barely form a sentence in English. Sometimes the world - and the internet - is a very tiny place.
Thirdly, my wrist appears to have recovered nicely thanks to my new wrist support, so I have whizzed through the first sleeve on my 4ply cardigan and now have one of the fronts on my needles. I shall miss the FIFA World Cup and not just because it allows for so much knitting time. Although my team, Denmark, did not acquit themselves with quite as much aplomb as I had hoped (cough), I have been enjoying the Cup so far - with a few notable exceptions. And we are heading into the second week of Wimbledon too. Maybe I will get my cardigan finished this summer! I need to ponder what to knit next.. Still or Calm?